Posted by Josh Anderson on April 12, 2006 at 7:45 AM
I guess this is more for the birders and wildlife people, but how much crop is acceptable for an 8 MP image. I know it all depends on what it is going to be used for and how large it is going to be printed. What if you crop an 8MP image by 50% for internet viewing and then someone wants to purchase a print. You are then really limited to the size of print that would be acceptable.
What I'm trying to get to is, for those of you who crop images of birds/wildlife what is the limit that you will crop an 8MP image too?
Hi Josh,
the answer is very subjective, it depeds by your tastes and by the resolution policies of the editor.
My experience:
Cropping by 50% an 8mp file is not a problem, if the image is sharp. Recently, I sold a 4mp photo (cropped 8mp) to a magazine that will print it double-page spread, i.e. nearly 30x40 centimeters.
I try to avoid cropping more than 50% for photos that will be printed "large". Otherwise, 3 or 2 megapixel are OK for small prints (12x18 or 10x15 centimeters).
Posted by Josh Anderson on April 12, 2006 at 10:14 AM
Thanks Juza!! BTW which image did you sell if you don't mind sharing. You can email me if you would like.
Posted by Bob Steele on April 12, 2006 at 10:26 AM
I agree with Juza's assessment. The key here is that the original must be SHARP!! Especially when upsize interpolation is require and fine detail involved. The image must be properly exposed to start with as well. When major exposure adjustment is done in post processing (brightening of under exposure), color noise becomes evident in darker areas. Cropping and interpolating only make it worse.
These factors are the primary reason that I harp on sharpness and proper exposure in the original capture when doing gallery critiques. Sure, under exposure can be adjusted to look decent in post processing, especially when viewed as a 640 pixel jpeg on the internet, but this same image will break down when cropped substantially and printed at even modest sizes.
Hi Josh,
I've written a 10 pages article about bird photography for the Italian magazine "Photographare in Digitale"; it contains a dozen of mine photos (both some captive ducks and some wild birds, as the Tits that I photographed in Switzerland last year). The content are essentially the same of the "Fauna Photography" article that I just published on my website.
The photo that opens the article is my image of the Mandarin Duck. I love this bird
Posted by Nathan Buck on April 12, 2006 at 11:36 AM
Wow! That is some bird Juza!
Nathan
Posted by Jasper Doest on April 12, 2006 at 12:49 PM
Personally I agree with your initial thoughts Joshua. A picture that I put on my website or on NPN must be able to look good in print as well. Therefore I don't go any further than cropping to about 5MP. I used to photograph with a Canon EOS10D, which has 6MP's. This means I would only crop off a maximum of 15%. Now with the 1Dmk2N I can go a bit further...but I try to avoid this. Mainly I use cropping for composition purposes (I often crop to panoramic format to put some extra focus on the subject), and not to make my subject look bigger. My rule of thumb is....if the subject is too small in frame...go for a pleasing composition including some striking environment, or otherwise just don't shoot it. But all in all cropping is a very personal issue. I've seen photographers taking off 75% of the original file (which was 4MP)....to me it feels like they were just fooling themselves...but if you don't have any printing purposes and you just want to show something on the internet I guess it would be ok.
Posted by Jack Graham on April 12, 2006 at 10:18 PM
Josh,
Isn't this forum great for information!
I always try & stay in the 50-60% area also and Bob is right on about sharpness ( just good photography).
Juza'a article is also maybe one of the best I've ever read one bird photography.
I'd be a rich man for all the transparencies that went in the garbage prior to the digital age. However, when you really nail a great bird image, the feeling is fantastic!.
Discussion
9 repliesWhat I'm trying to get to is, for those of you who crop images of birds/wildlife what is the limit that you will crop an 8MP image too?
the answer is very subjective, it depeds by your tastes and by the resolution policies of the editor.
My experience:
Cropping by 50% an 8mp file is not a problem, if the image is sharp. Recently, I sold a 4mp photo (cropped 8mp) to a magazine that will print it double-page spread, i.e. nearly 30x40 centimeters.
I try to avoid cropping more than 50% for photos that will be printed "large". Otherwise, 3 or 2 megapixel are OK for small prints (12x18 or 10x15 centimeters).
These factors are the primary reason that I harp on sharpness and proper exposure in the original capture when doing gallery critiques. Sure, under exposure can be adjusted to look decent in post processing, especially when viewed as a 640 pixel jpeg on the internet, but this same image will break down when cropped substantially and printed at even modest sizes.
I've written a 10 pages article about bird photography for the Italian magazine "Photographare in Digitale"; it contains a dozen of mine photos (both some captive ducks and some wild birds, as the Tits that I photographed in Switzerland last year). The content are essentially the same of the "Fauna Photography" article that I just published on my website.
The photo that opens the article is my image of the Mandarin Duck. I love this bird
Nathan
Isn't this forum great for information!
I always try & stay in the 50-60% area also and Bob is right on about sharpness ( just good photography).
Juza'a article is also maybe one of the best I've ever read one bird photography.
I'd be a rich man for all the transparencies that went in the garbage prior to the digital age. However, when you really nail a great bird image, the feeling is fantastic!.
See you soon,.
JG
And that bird is beautiful!